STOCKHOLM Transport (SL) has confirmed an order with Alstom for an additional 20 C30 four-car metro trains. The deal takes the total that Alstom will supply under a framework contract signed with Bombardier in 2013 to 116 trains.
SL says the additional trains are required to increase capacity as it aims to carry over 1 million passengers per day. The new trains will initially be deployed on the 41.2km Red Line and will also be used on the 25.5km Blue Line.
With 63 C30 trains already in service, SL is expecting to introduce 27 C30 cars in 2024 with “many more” set to follow in 2025. This will complete delivery of the trains from the original order, the first of which entered service in 2019.
Each C30 car is 35m long and each four-car train has capacity for 640 passengers, including 140 seated. It is also possible to operate the trains in multiple of two, taking the total length to 140m.
The C30s are equipped with air-conditioning, a first for the Stockholm metro, while the train’s 24 doors enable rapid boarding, reducing dwell times at stations. The trains offer improved accessibility, including dedicated spaces for wheelchairs, pushchairs and prams. They are also equipped for a future upgrade of the Stockholm metro network to driverless operation.
The original contract for 96 trains includes options for up to 80 additional sets, with 60 now remaining. As well as the Blue and Red lines, Alstom says the C30 is approved for operation on the 41.3km Green Line in preparation for future options.
Replacement
The new trains are replacing eight-car C6, C14 and C15 metro trains, dubbed the CX fleet, some of which date to the 1970s. SL began removing two CXs from service every week in May 2021 and operated its final CX, a C14, on the Red Line on February 12.
SL says 17 cars of the CX fleet have been retained with 12 trains to be rebuilt for future operation on the 18.5km Saltsjö suburban line between Stockholm and Nacka. Two will become maintenance vehicles, two will be used for fire training and one will be preserved in Stockholm’s Transport Museum.
SL also recently completed refurbishment of the entire C20 metro fleet of 90 three-car trains under a project that began in 2018.
These trains were built by Kalmar Verkstad/Bombardier and were delivered between 1997 and 2004. They are operated on all three metro lines, but will be replaced on the Red Line by the new C30 fleet. The refurbishment included reconfiguring the seating layout to increase capacity installing extra handrails, and replacement of seat upholstery. The first refurbished train entered since in November 2020.
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